Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-09-02
THE PICTURESQUE pAvAne.
A Revival from the ball Rooms OF By
gone Times-How II I. Danced.

A Revival from the hall kooms Of By-
gone Time.-How IL l. Danced.
The pavunc is TO be the next revival
from the ball rooms Of the bygone times.
To dance in character, the performers
should wear Louis NllI dresses, with
their large pulled sleeves and wide van
dyked lace turned back from the shoul-
ders and dropping over the arms. The
oyer,lress and petticoat would not be any
novelty in these days Of Louis XIV gowns,
and the lace wired high at the back Of the
neck wCuld be becoming to many and by
no means startling innovation. The
style of hair. however, would be rather
trying. The coiffure Of that period VS.
perfectly fiat ON the top. The back hair
was arranged around comb, while a
thick bunch Of c,Tls hung over either ear,
concealing both. The buckled or rosetted
shoes. with pointed toes and high heels,
are familiar enough To us all.
The mems dress is sufficiently pictur-
esque, with silk stockings, rosetted shoes,
knee breeches ending in frill Of rich lace
and tied with ribbons at the knees, tight
jacket of silk or velvet, with slashed
sleeves and short coat hanging loose from
the shoulders. Their deep cavalier collars
and long lovelocks are inseparably con-
nected in our minds with later period OF
our own island history.
The dance itself is a graceful one, with
much sinuous turning and twisting Of the
dancers many sliding steps. deep courte-
sizes ard pretty pointed toe brought up to
the recover The music is in triple time.
like that of the nlinuet, and the first re-
markahle feature in the dance is the start
ing off of two out Of each four couples t'
the very end Of the room In the minue,
step, and their slow dance back again TO
place themselves as visa Wis to the other
| two couples Immediately after the lat
ter set of on similar expedition. return
| ing TO their original positions. This pre-
| liminary canter concluded, the real busi-
ness OF the dance begins, strangely enough,
by scattering the four couples to the very
extremities OF the room.
Brought together again in the center,
still holding hands, they content them
selves with more limited space, ranging
| themselves as though for quadrille. The
| third figure is a pretty one, but one IN
which men in modern costume would
probably feel themselves to be ridiculous.
, Each gentleman kneels on one knee, his
| sword well out at the back. his right hand
resting-palm upward-on his right knee.
Each lady, taking scrap of her overdress
I in each hand, sets of with the left foot
and glides coquettishly in front Of the
! partner opposite her own in n diagonal di-
I rection.
! Then the men rise, lady and cavalier
making each other a low reverence, the
whole four couples in the same moment.
( Much Of the beauty OF this figure con
| sists in the courtesy being made exactly
4. simultaneously by the eight dancers.
| This was the only point in which the
dancers at the costume ball failed in their
gavot Some Of them were rising after
l their low bow. at the moment when others
-. were making the descent. This reverence
| over, the cavaliers so down again on one
knee, while the ladies dance of, each ar
irving before her very own partner, when
there are fresh courtesies, the men rising
~Gphd giving their right hands to the ladies'
/who pirouette without letting go the hand
being supported 10y the other arm Of theil
partners. which is passed round theiI
waist
In the last figure the four dancers form
:! circle by taking hands and then letting
go, but still holding the arms raised higi
in the air, each couple turns to each other
with step TO the right and then one Il
the left, repeating this double movement
four times. After this each couple stands
ranged behind the first and dances off on,
Of the room by door on the opposite side
10 that by which they danced into it
( London Society.